Roscoe puts in request for search helicopters

ROSCOE — The village will request two helicopters from the Department of Defense to bolster an air fleet that’s used by police agencies in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

Greg Stanley

ROSCOE — The village will request two helicopters from the Department of Defense to bolster an air fleet that’s used by police agencies in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

While the helicopters technically would belong to Roscoe and would be painted with the Roscoe name, they would be operated, maintained and used by the Air-One Emergency Service Coalition, formerly known as the Law Enforcement Aviation Coalition.

The Defense Department offers surplus helicopters to law enforcement agencies around the country. The aircraft would come at no cost to the village, and the coalition will pay for gas, maintenance, insurance, pilots and general operation.

The coalition is a nonprofit that provides air support for searches and rescues and local law enforcement agencies. It operates with six aircraft based out of airports in Rockford, Freeport and Kenosha, Wis.

Roscoe police Chief Jamie Evans said the additional helicopters will only help Roscoe in the case of an emergency like a missing child.

“It’s not just for Roscoe, it’ll help out everybody in our entire area,” she said. “It’s pretty rare they do get called out for anything from us.”

Roscoe has called the coalition about three times in the past five years, she said.

The last call came in 2009, when Roscoe police were searching for a potential victim in a wooded area.

Roscoe officials unsuccessfully requested a helicopter from the Defense Department in 2009. Surplus aircraft were expected to be distributed then, but it turned out they were needed in Afghanistan, said Randy Olson, chief pilot for the coalition.

Olson said the village should find out whether it will receive the helicopters sometime this fall or early next spring.

Air-One also will ask for additional helicopters on its own.

“Even though we can ask for our own, we’re still trying to keep the coalition,” Olson said. “We’re trying to keep agencies like Roscoe involved and Winnebago County, Byron, Winthrop Harbor, Kenosha, Stephenson County.”

Roscoe Officer Theresa Rawaillot is a tactical flight officer for the coalition.